Slain woman's three daughters a concern

Feb. 12, 2013

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The News Journal

Parents

Parents should monitor how much time their children are spending watching media coverage of the courthouse shooting to ensure they are coping appropriately with the frightening news, experts say. There are steps parents can take to help them process what has happened. To learn more, go to kids.delaware.gov and click on “Family Trauma Help” listed on the left.

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After Monday’s deadly shooting at the New Castle County Courthouse, concern has escalated for the three daughters of Christine Belford, one of the two woman killed.

Authorities would not say Tuesday where the children have been placed.

“We are, right now, working to make sure they are safe and their emotional needs in this time of tragedy are being met,” said Deputy Attorney General Patricia Dailey Lewis, director of the family division.

Belford and Laura Mulford were killed Monday in a shooting state officials say was sparked by a child-custody dispute between Belford and her ex-husband, David Matusiewicz. Her ex-husband and his mother, Lenore, kidnapped the children in 2007 and had recently finished serving prison sentences for the crime. Police say Matusiewcz’s father, Thomas, killed Belford and Mulford, then turned his gun fatally on himself.

“Whatever is going on in their lives is very personal,” Andrea Wojcik, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families, said of all children who face traumatic situations“Our goal is not to make it more traumatic.”

When any child’s parent or guardian is killed, there is a process for selecting a new home. If there is extended family – and they are willing and able to care for the child – that’s the first option considered, Wojcik said. If that does not work, the state would ask Family Court to place the child in foster care.

Parents can prepare for this situation by naming a guardian in their will so state officials know, and can consider, their wishes, Dailey Lewis said.

For children, school can be a return to a normal routine after a traumatic event. Many schools have support staff to offer counseling.

“We want to make sure we can help them stay in with the flow,” said Jennifer Arrighi, a school psychologist at Appoquinimink High School.

State officials have not confirmed where all the children attended school. At least one attended Downes Elementary School in Newark.

On the day of the shooting, staff at the Delaware Autism Program reached out to Downes to offer specialized help, said Wendy Lapham, a spokeswoman for the Christina School District. One of Belford’s children has autism.

Belford’s and Mulford’s deaths meant that the Girl Scouts of the Chesapeake Bay lost two people connected with the organization. The local council’s CEO, Anne T. Hogan, put out a statement expressing condolences and support.

“Delaware is such a small state that when a tragedy like this happens – the degrees of separation are not very much,” said Jennifer Powell Acord, a council spokeswoman. “People know each other here. We all saw that name, and there’s a lot of shock today. Shock and sadness.”